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Bud_Viking
·Here is the tale of my father's watch. When I was little it was simply my dad's watch, the one he wound and wore every day. I knew it was vaguely special because he told me how it had been worn by the NASA astronauts. He passed away when I was 13 and after that it just sat in a box for years. I wore it occasionally and of course as a teenager I did not take care of it the way it deserved. Eventually the cheap aftermarket band on it broke and at some point one of the pushers went missing. It went into a box of mementos and for the next three decades I would take it out now and then and wind it and see that still ran perfectly.
Two years ago I walked past a jeweler with an Omega logo in the window and it occurred to me that I might have it repaired and brought back to life. They told me that Omega did have a service that would restore a vintage watch and I brought it to the local authorized Omega service centre. When it came back they informed me that it was a case reference 2915.3 with a calibre 321 movement. They said that they could do a full restoration but that I would have to authorize an initial estimate of a minimum of $2400 CAD. By chance I had two co-workers who were watch collectors and they suggested that a full Omega restoration may end up destroying its value as a vintage watch.
I started researching the issue and thankfully found William Roberts' Speedmaster101.com site. I emailed William for advice and received a reply that literally had the subject line in all caps "DO NOT SEND YOUR WATCH TO OMEGA". He said that they would do such a thorough restoration that it would essentially come back looking like a brand new watch and would lose its value as a vintage watch. I decided to follow his advice and sent the watch to a watch maker he has worked with for what they term a "sympathetic service".
Simon Freese in the UK was fantastic to work with after some initial difficulty communicating due to over aggressive spam filters on my end. I recently received the watch back in perfect, beautiful condition. The only significant cosmetic change aside from the missing pusher being replaced is that the heavily scratched crystal was polished to beautiful clarity. I cannot recommend Simon enough. Though my daily wear while working as an industrial electrician is a Casio G-Shock it is nice to have my father's watch back in a condition it deserves and he would appreciate.
I thought the forum might like to see some before and after pictures and apologize for the wall of text.
Two years ago I walked past a jeweler with an Omega logo in the window and it occurred to me that I might have it repaired and brought back to life. They told me that Omega did have a service that would restore a vintage watch and I brought it to the local authorized Omega service centre. When it came back they informed me that it was a case reference 2915.3 with a calibre 321 movement. They said that they could do a full restoration but that I would have to authorize an initial estimate of a minimum of $2400 CAD. By chance I had two co-workers who were watch collectors and they suggested that a full Omega restoration may end up destroying its value as a vintage watch.
I started researching the issue and thankfully found William Roberts' Speedmaster101.com site. I emailed William for advice and received a reply that literally had the subject line in all caps "DO NOT SEND YOUR WATCH TO OMEGA". He said that they would do such a thorough restoration that it would essentially come back looking like a brand new watch and would lose its value as a vintage watch. I decided to follow his advice and sent the watch to a watch maker he has worked with for what they term a "sympathetic service".
Simon Freese in the UK was fantastic to work with after some initial difficulty communicating due to over aggressive spam filters on my end. I recently received the watch back in perfect, beautiful condition. The only significant cosmetic change aside from the missing pusher being replaced is that the heavily scratched crystal was polished to beautiful clarity. I cannot recommend Simon enough. Though my daily wear while working as an industrial electrician is a Casio G-Shock it is nice to have my father's watch back in a condition it deserves and he would appreciate.
I thought the forum might like to see some before and after pictures and apologize for the wall of text.
